[Closed] Call for Evans Cycles Boycot

Just think of all those poor children who will starve because their dad didn't shop around when buying a chain link.

Its for a pack of 4....

did you put that tag aracer? I miss not being able to tag any more.. 😥

OP. Price match them if you have to buy from them. Evans are the pinata of the UK bike trade. It's not worth getting wound up over!

In the Fisher catalogue I think it shows them priced as 4 and also 100.

Its for a pack of 4....

and

Other shops are available.

I got a pair of Troy Lee gloves for £12. No boycotting here.

Find it cheaper online and they price match at the till, so I don't see there is an issue

Are they owned by the Argies?

Just don't buy it?

oh hang on, isn't that a boycott? or just capitalism at work?

Retailer charging retail price shocker.

I bought a big S deviant carbon helmet from them for 80 euros, including delivery to Germany, probably the biggest bargain I have ever got from any shop ever.

Biggest ripoff was skyline at afan charging 20% above rrp for brake pads.

they have lied to me on several occasions and refused to fix stuff under warranty.
claiming they are 'fully qualified mechanics'..... maybe, but still wrong

i already do boycott them..

Stupid thread, misspelled word in the title - I'm boycotting you sonny!

[img] http://t0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcS5tsPVVdyeoAL-WbLOJGgzoG-XxYz9BuDH-VNnhXs3V4GZ96Cd [/img]

Let them feel your wrath.
Do not hesitate to tell everyone you meet,talk them in to submission.
Start a petition.
Start a new hairstyle.
March down an empty street with a determined stare ( and the new hairstyle).
Get children to carry home made signs.
Face paint everyone in your march.
Write to your MP,MSP,BP,OAP and DoRayMe.
or

Search the internet.
Find them.
Buy them.
Then sit in a chair by the fire ,rocking gently (possibly dribbling),while whispering "Myyyyyyy Preciousssssss"

I'm calling for a Geoff Boycot's cycle boycot.

I've already boycotted them. In fact I've boycotted every bike shop apart from my LBS, whoever happens to be cheapest online for the part I want, or the shop that is nearest when I need something urgently.

I find the title very scary...

In Scots a "Doocot" is a structure intended to house pigeons or doves; and therefore I am assuming that the "Boycot" in the title is a similar structure for the housing of boys!!!

I'm not very happy about this and plan to write to my MP.

Use the price match..........they price matched me a Crankset c/w BB against a crankset only.....worked for me.....No need to boycott just shop around...We actually have a good deal with out LBS and get really good discounts because we use them.....try to use them a bit more now and they can get most things in if needed.

I've had a dig around and I've found you this. It may go some way to explaining a concept that, believe it or not, has dominated western thinking for decades. And despite its numerous, and recently grandly illustrated faults, is apparently better than any of the alternatives.

[url= http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitalism ]Capitalism[/url]

There will be questions later

Why stop at Evans? For that we should boycott all bike shops. That'll teach 'em!

Anyone see a flaw in that?

No?

Good. No more buying bike stuff. Wait until they all come to us begging for mercy

Did they actually have any in stock? From my experience of Evans, if its something smaller or more specific than a complete bike, you may struggle

How can Evans Cycles possibly justify charging £15.99 for a 9 Speed SRAM Powerlink Gold Chain Connector ?

while you were there being outraged did you actually ask them that?
like saying:

"hey, that seems a bit expensive, I've seen them a lot cheaper elsewhere, why so much?"

And if you did then what was their reply?

I get the impression the OP didn't really think it through before posting. 😐

we should seriously think about.....

i think its good that we haven't all acted without doing this serious thinking bit first

"hey, that seems a bit expensive, I've seen them a lot cheaper elsewhere, why so much?"

this is an excellent example of thinking through the problem and maybe getting both sides to see each others point of view before anything too rash happens

ps just off to B&Q to get some screws - i've downloaded a draft pro-forma UN mandate [i]and[/i] am taking a picture of kids and pets , any problems i'll be back for help later

I've neevr understood the attraction of Evans. I've always thought of them as a green-decored Halfords a-like.

Its for a pack of 4....

That's great value! I think I'll pop down there at lunchtime...

[i]a green-decored Halfords a-like[/i]

I find Halfords fine, tbh, they're no mroe expensive than elsewhere, tend to have a resonable selection of bits and bobs available to buy there and then and, on the whole, the staff are willing to help.

They do throw up the amazing bargins every now and again, too, either through their 'bargin bin' or selling old bikes off cheap.

[img] [/img]
My nan could have made a better bike shop with a stick of rhubarb.

I buy packs of 2 KMC ones off a shop on ebay for £3 posted. If you don't spend a couple of minutes to look for a decent price (it's pretty easy these days) then expect to pay the RRP.

Other than the obvious said above, I had a funny moment with an Evan's member of staff.

I'm a care worker, supporting autistic adults with severe learning disabilities. They use a tricycle and these tend to be made out of the worst parts. So a v-brake lever snapped and I had to get a replacement.

DAMN YOU MISSION TRICYCLES!! 👿

He asked what sort of budget, I explained the situation and asked for something like a basic Shimano or Avid lever. After not being able to find one, the chap came out and after apologising profusely [b]shook my hand!?[/b]

I once went into maplin (the evans of the electrical component world, CRC being RS) with a wadd of cash (about £2k), never been called sir so frequently by so many attentive staff in a bike shop, depite the potential for spending the same or more!

If you're in the Waterloo-London Bridge-Tower Bridge area (that Lahndahn), there are three Evans bike stores. There is also a new "On Your Bike" store in Tooley Street near London Bridge station which, apart from being an excellent store, also offers bike storage...... 😉

It's a shame in a sense about Evans. When I started cycling (mid 90s), Evans was my LBS (Wandsworth branch) and it was still basically a local shop even though they had the Waterloo shops. The staff there were knowledgeable, keen and helpful.

But then they've been pretty successful as a business as far as I can see with major expansion though admittedly I don't know how it's been funded and have heard rumours that things nearly went very wrong from that viewpoint.

Without going into the tedious details, they've lost an expensive Endura jacket which I gave them to send back under warranty and refuse to do anything about it. Shall I return to give them more of my money?

Ooh, let me see now...

as said before internet price match them.

Chillfactor branch gave 4 free spokes so that I could mend my back wheel..............I have no issue with them.

I just got a mech hanger from evans for £9.99, quite happy with that TBH.

Please boycott them. It's a great idea. Boycott us too. I actually charged a retail price for a tube the other day (and didn't feel guilty). But then we repaired some bikes for nothing even though they had bought them from another local bike shop.

I generally shop around for parts and boycott all but teh cheapest shop.

I frequently flounce off the forum around bedtime too, then relent and log in again the next morning after I wake up.

maplin (the evans of the electrical component world, CRC being RS)

A bit harsh on Maplin - I'd describe them as more Leisure Lakes. Farnell are CRC, whilst RS are kind of like Madison with a retail front end (the analogy is poor - there isn't really a good equivalent of RS in the bike trade).

I once enquired in an Evans whether they could get hold of a Blue Pig frame.

I was then asked how do you spell 'Blue Pig' 🙄

I generally find evans OK, but you have to treat them for what they are, a largely London centric chain. They stock for the masses rather than our niche needs

I have a very pleasent dealings with them yesterday (St Paul's Branch) I had snapped the BOA wire on my S-works shoes, so went in, to see if they could order the part. They could, it would cost £12 and take 10 day to arrive, not ideal but ok, they are 2008 shoes so no real suprise.

One of the chaps then said Condor Cycles might have them in stock? he rang up pretending to be a customer, they did have them in stock, and what more they were £6.99 😀 Went to Condor, picked up my new lace job done! Thanks Evans!

I had exactly this situation in my local Evans shop. i asked for a 9spd link, they got me one, i took it to the till and it rang up at £12. I did an involuntary wtf and they looked it up on the internet and confirmed it. Seems the bar code links to the 4 pack and not the one pack. So i asked them if they price matched CRC, looked it up there at about £2.99 and they agreed. The assistant called the manager over who said he couldn't be arsed to match a £2.99 piece, so instead went to get a powerlink from the workshop out of the bag that had literally hundreds in. And gave it to me FOC. And in fact gave me 2 FOC while he was at it.

I'll use them again.

Nothing but praise for the my local Evans (Braehead Glasgow)

I wanted to be niche and dislike them but the are invariably knowledgeable, helpful and also price match online prices.

For that reason I'm oot

Can I just take this opportunity to ask how powerlinks now cost anywhere between £3-£5? It didn't seem that long ago they were 95p a shot!

I know all the arguments about inflation, strength of the pound etc but does that really explain a 300% price rise, minimum?

I notice Shimano joining pins have managed to buck the trend are still something like £7 for 5...

Pathetic thread. I use Evans,in my local one there are all good lads and the price matching is spot on

Hi,

Thanks for highlighting the error, there are indeed four chain connectors in the pack - sorry for the misunderstanding, we have amended the product page.

Balint @ Evans Cycles

wow. If the collective minds of a few individuals on this forum can make Evans correct their pricing ... just think ...

Shop around. Google shopping is a good start.

Evans are good, I've bought stuff online and from the shop when I've needed it and they've never been a problem.

Never had a problem with Evans. I pricematch online when I'm in-store, for the most part the workshop have been fine etc. I'd rather have had Evans than my old LBS for 90% of the time. In fact, I'd rather have Evans than the shop run by the former pro-roadie down the road from my office now too.

evans cycles is easy to use if you use them the right way.

1:Never buy anything from their store at the RRP
2:If you buy anything make sure it is priced matched.

Follow those rules and happy days.

[i]can make Evans correct their pricing[/i]

errm, the price was right, the description just didn;t make it clear that the price was for 4 links.

I've bought some very competitively priced stuff in their sales.

Service has been a little variable - one shirt arrived dirty and was replaced by another shop soiled item. They refunded me in full and allowed me to keep both shirts.

Customer service and product knowledge is pretty patchy across the industry - especially the large online retailers who are pushing down costs.

Evans price match and you can return stuff to their shops if it doesn't fit.

Always pays to shop around because prices vary massively.

So have they gone bust yet?
I'll get my coat:-)